Pastors are a gift to the church. Now, at the risk of making what reads like an arrogant assertion, we must consider what the Bible tells us, for we know from scripture that after His ascension, Jesus gave gifts to the church, and one of those gifts was pastor, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers” (Ephesians 4:11). This passage proceeds to shed some light on the purpose of these gifts, “For the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the status which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:12-13). This singular purpose, of equipping and building, produces an equally singular result – maturity in the life of the believer. There certainly are a number of other tasks and functions for the pastor to fulfill, but as I read these verses in Ephesians, the purpose of the pastor seems clear. Over my fifteen-plus years of fulltime, vocational ministry, I have seen some disturbing trends. I believe that ministry, pastoral ministry specifically, is a powerful and significant call, but I have seen many pastors fall into the trap of operating in an office outside of that which they have been called to. Sometimes this is based in a desire for notoriety, other times a desire for more money, or perhaps even because their intentions were good, but they simply allowed themselves to get off track a little. I have seen pastors attempt to function as an evangelist, giving their all for the lost while completely neglecting those who are already in the household of faith. Additionally, I have seen pastors who attempt to fill the role of a prophet, where they are so heavenly-minded that they’re no earthly good; operating in a strong “Thus sayeth the Lord” type of ministry, but the church budget is falling to pieces. Is there anything wrong or inappropriate with being an evangelist or a prophet? Certainly not, but there is something powerful when a man or a woman fully embraces what God has called them to be. However, things can go quickly askew when they wander away from God’s calling on their life. So what is a pastor? We know that a pastor is gift, from Jesus, to the church, and we discovered that one of its primary purposes is the equipping of the believer. The Greek word for equipping is katartismos, and when used as it was in Ephesians 4:12, it means, “properly, exact adjustment which describes how the individual parts work together in correct order.” As I read that definition, I cannot help but compare the imagery to that of a chiropractor, in that a pastor, like a chiropractor, is in the business of adjusting the body and bringing it into proper alignment and a perfected condition of functionality. Again, all of that speaks to the pastor’s role of helping the believer come into a place of maturity in their walk with Christ. This process of equipping, adjusting, perfecting, aligning, and bringing the body into correct working order is accomplished by a variety of means, not simply by preaching and teaching. I believe a pastor can, and should utilize other approaches in the process of equipping. Yes they should preach and teach but they should also provide correction or rebuke when necessary, personal words of encouragement, prayers with and for the body, along with a number of other relational initiatives. Our English word ‘pastor’ comes from a Latin word which translates as ‘shepherd.’ This concept is not without Biblical support as we read about our Lord as the Good Shepherd, as well as in Jesus’ statement to Peter upon Peter’s affirmative declaration of his love for Christ, “Jesus said to him, ‘Tend my sheep’” (John 21:17). Jesus is the Good Shepherd and pastors are His under-shepherds. A pastor is a sheep himself, following the leading of Jesus, but as one who has been called to a pastoral office, he also serves in a role as a shepherd, leading and shepherding the children of God, albeit as an under-shepherd. As an under-shepherd, the pastor should take on the characteristics and qualities of the over-shepherd, Jesus. We read a promise in the Old Testament, “Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding” (Jeremiah 3:15). I believe that God’s plan is for pastors to be an extension of Himself to the body of Christ, not merely in authority, but in service, and in how they relate to the body. Although I mentioned that the process of equipping is not only accomplished through preaching and teaching, one cannot deny the fact that preaching and teaching are indeed a very important aspect of a pastor’s ministry. In Paul’s writing to young pastor Timothy, he is giving the qualifications for an elder and he writes, “An overseer then, must be above reproach…able to teach” (I Timothy 3:2). In his book, The Effective Pastor, Robert Anderson speaks of the nature the teaching aspect of a pastor’s ministry, “However, regardless of how broad and diversified he finds his ministry, a major portion of that ministry must necessarily be centered upon teaching. He will be called upon as a teacher in several roles.” Mr. Anderson goes on to present a number of teaching avenues for the pastor, from his pulpit ministry, to his interaction with parishioners, and finally to his own life as a teaching model before the people. I personally believe that this last avenue of pastor teaching is the most important. A pastor’s exposure to the people via the pulpit is a couple of hours a week at the most, but his life, removed from the platform, is lived before those that he leads seven days a week. This brings me to the crux of the matter, an aspect that goes beyond the “what” a pastor is, and leads us to how should a pastor conduct himself? What are the qualities and characteristics of a good pastor? What are the aspects of the life and ministry of a pastor that lead to what most would consider a successful ministry? I hold strongly to this one conviction, that before I am anything, I am a child of God. Before I am a father, a husband, a pastor, a musician, or before I take my part in any other role I fill, I am a Christian. In his writings to Timothy and Titus, Paul gives a number of requirements and necessary qualities for anyone who is called to the office of an overseer or an elder, but the Bible is also full of qualities that apply to anyone that bears the name of Christ, whether they are a pastor or a plumber, as a believer, the characteristics they adhere to should be the same. Here’s what’s significant though, those Christian virtues are the basis for success in whatever field God calls us into, but especially into the pastorate, for a successful pastor must first be a successful Christian. A successful, Godly husband must first be a Godly man. The success of the role that a man or woman fills, I believe, is directly related to the quality of the individual they bring to the role. This of course does not mean that a perfect man is the only appropriate man for the pastorate, it does mean that he or she should be living a Godly lifestyle, based on Biblical mandate, resulting in a life which produces the fruit of the Spirit. All of the theological training in the world cannot adequately compensate for a lack of moral living. I have observed an unfortunate reality during my years of ministry, but I would imagine it is as old as the ministry itself, and that is a valuing of charisma over character. I personally believe that character is of the utmost importance to the life of anyone who desires to truly live for Christ, but it is especially important for those who serve in pastoral ministry. The legendary UCLA Bruins men’s basketball coach John Wooden was once quoted as saying, “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when nobody is watching.” I would agree with the spirit of that quote, the essence of character being, will an individual do what is right when no one is around to see him if he chose to do wrong? There is one word in that quote that I would like to address – the word is “does.” Obviously that word is connected to action, something we actively do. I would propose that character is not something we do, but it is to be the essence of who we are. I would suggest that character is who we are on the inside rather than what we portray on the outside, and I believe that the much of Jesus’ teaching, in addition to other portions of scripture, would support this. We might judge a man by the words that come out of his mouth, but in Luke’s gospel we read, “For his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45). Similarly, we read in another location, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is” (Proverbs 23:7). These are just a couple of examples which I believe clearly communicate we are who we are on the inside. That does not mean that many do not have the ability to put on a good act on the outside, many do, but that does not negate the reality of who they are in their heart. Let’s briefly consider the Pharisees and their interaction with Jesus. On one particular occasion, Jesus had some pretty strong words for them, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanliness” (Matthew 23:27). This paper is not a study on the Pharisees but what we know from the Bible that their modus operandi was a religious adherence to the law, whereby they would elevate it above any and every other consideration, including the teachings of Jesus. Jesus is not saying that the Pharisees adhering to the law is wrong, but He is referring to the condition of their hearts for their motivation was not to love God with their lives but rather to create an air of religious superiority. Upon first inspection of outward appearances, most would think that the Pharisees had their act together but according to Jesus, the exact opposite was the reality and on the inside they were corrupt and hypocritical. A pastor faces a multitude of decisions every day of his life, and in each of these moments he has a choice to make – character or compromise. John Maxwell addresses this, “Adversity is a crossroads that make a person choose one of two paths: character or compromise. Every time he chooses character, he becomes stronger, even if that choice brings negative consequences. He goes on to say, “The development of character is at the heart of our development not just as leaders (pastors), but as human beings.” Character should be the governing quality of every pastor. Whereas character is a general, all-encompassing quality, one that should govern every area of our lives in a general, philosophical, and even a moral sense, there are a number of additional, more-specific qualities which I believe contribute to the success of a pastor’s life and ministry. In the pages that remain I will endeavor to give a brief explanation of the few qualities that are at the top of my list.
Humility/Servanthood
Jesus is the example of a true servant-leader, and He is the one we are to model our lives and ministries after. Paul describes Jesus in his letter to the church at Philippi, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death” (Philippians 2:5-8). Without going into a deep Christological discourse, Jesus was fully God and fully man, but for the purpose of fulfilling His earthly mission, He laid aside His Heavenly rights and became a humble servant. Elsewhere we read, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6). Pride is the opposite of humility, and God opposes it. One other familiar passage tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Proverbs 16:18). Recently, a ministry acquaintance of mine experienced this reality in what was an almost career-ending series of choices. He’s not a senior pastor but he was looking to leave his current ministry position to become a senior pastor. He had his resume “out there” and he had even interviewed at a couple of churches but he still held his current position as a Worship Pastor. To make a long story short, he allowed his pride and his ego to cloud his perspective and it led him to make some very poor choices, choices that cost him his job but almost cost him his credentials and could have potentially landed him in jail. Those of us on the outside looking in could see the havoc that pride was wreaking in his life but again, his arrogance blinded him to what was happening. I could easily say, “Well, I would have done that differently,” or, “I wouldn’t have made that decision,” but the fact of the matter is that the nature of pride is an inability to see wrong in itself. The best time to combat pride is always right now and the best way to do is to intentionally put on humility. Jesus had to intentionally set aside His rights and become a servant. We must do the same. Love Truthfully, love should be a characteristic prevalent in all believers but it is of the utmost importance in the life of a pastor, and not just love for those that he leads, but it should extend to his brother or sister in Christ. In his gospel John writes, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35). Frequently we read of Jesus being moved by compassion and by love. Paul speaks of the importance of love when he writes, “But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13). Truthfully, I could fill page after page with what the Bible says about love and I think that is indicative of how important love is as a defining quality of a believer. I think a cold reality is that many pastors love the ministry but hate the people, it at least appears that way many times. I have seen pastors who love to preach, they love to sing, they love to plan events, etc., but they just don’t seem to have a genuine love for people. Often it seems as though people are an annoyance or an inconvenience to them. I’m sure there are times in my ministry where I have had that same attitude but it’s so important to remember that ministry is about one thing – people. I have worked over the years to grow in this area; and with God’s grace, I will continue to improve in prioritizing the needs of people over the needs of my tasks.
Secure
I look at this quality as a two-fold dynamic in the life of a pastor. First, a pastor needs to be secure in what God has called Him to do but this begins with knowing what God has called him to do; being aware of his purpose. This even applied to Jesus. Following His encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, Jesus had a conversation with His disciples; they were stressing to him that He needed to have something to eat. Jesus responds to them with an interesting statement, “I have food to eat that you do not know about…My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work” (John 4:32-34). What is Jesus saying here? I believe He is making a powerful declaration to his disciples that the thing which sustains Him, the thing which brings Him the most satisfaction is fulfilling the will of His Father – His God-given purpose. Second, a pastor needs to be secure in who God created Him to be. He needs to realize that not everybody can preach like Bishop T.D. Jakes, or give an altar call like Billy Graham, or administrate like Dr. Mark Rutland, but God has given him the abilities for the work that He has called him to. We all have a place and a function in the body but until each and every one of us develop a healthy God-esteem, we will never be comfortable in our own skin, if you will.
Secure leaders and pastors are those that do not feel threatened by the successes of others. A secure pastor is able to celebrate the wins of those around him (including his staff members.) A secure pastor is a releaser. A secure pastor can be a spiritual father and raise up spiritual sons and daughters, and a secure spiritual father is never threatened by the successes of his offspring. A true father actually wants more for his offspring than he does for himself.
I have worked for two pastors who are excellent examples of both ends of the security spectrum. One, let’s call him Pastor W, was so secure in who God made him in his calling and purpose that I would swear his spiritual clothes were Bermuda shorts, black socks, a white tank-top, and a nose covered with sun screen (go ahead and picture that; you’d have to be REALLY secure to don such attire!) He was a releaser and if anyone on the team “won”, the whole team won. He celebrated victories and didn’t rub people’s noses in their defeats. He shared the limelight and once, when someone was complimenting him on the quality of a particular church event, he said to the congregation, “You can compliment me alright…on being smart enough to hire talented people!” He was truly secure in who God made him to be and because of that, it allowed people to be secure with themselves when they were around him. He made everybody feel like a “ten.”
The other pastor I worked for, we’ll call him Pastor C, was incredibly insecure. He carried himself with a bravado, but it was evident to many that it was an over-compensation for his lack of security. Unlike Pastor W, Pastor C devoured his young. He would manipulate and play mind games with them. He would threaten their jobs from the pulpit. Whenever his staff would begin to experience a little bit of success, he would go out of his way to “knock them down a few rungs.” His problem wasn’t a lack of talent. He was a super-talented man, a great preacher, he had a very charismatic personality, he was a strong worship leader, etc., but he simply wasn’t secure with where God had placed him. He wanted more. He wanted a national audience. He was jealous of well-known ministries and preachers. He wanted the finer things and he simply was not content with what God had given to him. This insecurity and lack of contentment led him to embezzle tens of thousands of dollars from the church, which eventually led to an FBI investigation.
How would I have handled the situation differently than Pastor C? That’s difficult to say, it’s obvious that he had some deep-seated resentment and jealousy. Who knows where that began? Maybe he grew up poor and he wanted better for his kids. Maybe he grew up in obscurity and now he wanted a ministry of prominence. Truthfully, I used to struggle in this area as a younger minister. I used to be jealous of a certain national praise and worship leader. I wanted to write songs like him and record like him and travel the country like him. One of the greatest moments of my life was when I simply let go of my fleshly desires and declared to the Lord that I simply wanted to fulfill His plan for my life. I wanted to be in the center of His will. I have since been able to celebrate and enjoy the ministry of that artist, but even more importantly, I’ve been able to celebrate the gifts and abilities that God has deposited within the people that I lead.
Jesus knew exactly who He was, why He was on earth, and because of this security, He was able to ignore the naysayers and keep his face pressed hard in the direction of fulfilling His Father’s will. He poured His life into His disciples, withholding nothing. He even told them they would do greater works than He did! He released and sent His disciples to do the work of the Kingdom. I believe that He would want the same attitude to be present and prevalent in the lives of those He has called to the pastorate.
Visionary
I once heard somebody allude to the fact that as a pastor, you can either be a visionary or an administrator, but you can’t be both. I could not disagree more; I do not feel as though the two are mutually exclusive. Not only is it possible for a pastor to be a visionary; it’s necessary! I would agree that there are certain personality types which are more prone to operate as a visionary, but by no means does that mean that it’s impossible for other personality types to be visionaries, nor does it lessen the importance for them to walk in vision. Let us first consider what the Word of God says about vision. “Then the Lord answered me and said, ‘Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run. For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:2-3). Elsewhere we read, “Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained” (Proverbs 29:18). These are just a couple of verse that reference the importance and necessity of God-given vision. According to George Barna, “Vision for ministry is a clear mental image of a preferable future imparted by God to His chosen servants and is based upon an accurate understanding of God, self and circumstances.” The key phrase in that definition is “imparted by God.” A successful pastor does not sit in his office attempting to come up with good ideas, but he seeks the face of God, awaiting a divine impartation of God-given vision. Effective ministry is vision-driven, and effective vision is God-given. We may be able to come up with some pretty good ideas, but vision for effective ministry must originate with God. “When people create a vision that is not God centered, it may result in temporal progress but unlikely will provide a positive, long-lasting change.”
A visionary is not a pie-in-the-sky dreamer, but a man or a woman who has received a clear mental image from God. A true visionary is future-focused and is a leader, chosen by God, to receive an imparted vision from God himself. A true visionary does not allow himself to be limited by his own imagination for he knows his imagination is limited. A true visionary is completely dependent upon the supernatural for if the vision truly is God-given, it simply cannot find its fulfillment in man’s strength alone. A true visionary is sensitive to the leading of God. Here is what I have found, God may give us the vision, but many times, it is up to us to put feet to it and put it into action, this requires us to make plans and to strategize ideas and approaches to realize the fulfillment of said vision. While this is good, God expects our involvement, we must always remain dependent on and sensitive to Him. “The mind of man plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps” (Proverbs 16:9). As a pastor prays, receives vision, and begins to plan the implementation of the vision, he must remain sensitive to God’s direction, for it’s His vision to begin with. He simply allows us to play a part. I have known a number of people who have left the ministry after only a few years and the national statistics in this area are staggering. I often wonder if many who go into the ministry simply weren’t called to begin with. Truthfully, as a result of abuse and burnout, I have left the ministry twice but it’s always been the strength of the call that has served as a magnetic force, pulling me back in. I’ve always felt that you can walk away from a career, but you cannot walk away from a calling. Nevertheless, I am not here to question the motives or to doubt the calling of those who throw in the ministerial towel so soon. Ministry can be hard at times, there’s no doubt about it, but it can also be incredibly rewarding. It is so important for those in ministry to remain humble and to allow the grace of God to be at work in the lives of His people. Nobody is perfect, neither pastor nor parishioner. We all make mistakes, I know I’ve made my fair share over the years, but it’s that which makes me so grateful for the grace of God in my life. I’ve been abused by sheep and by shepherd, but God is always faithful and He has never left me or forsaken me. I have continued to grow in humility and I continue to learn what it means to love people; it isn’t always easy, but it sure is important.
To all those in ministry, I would encourage them to do the following as often as possible: forgive freely, love extravagantly, give unreservedly, pray unceasingly, worship passionately, and seek God continually. The willingness to be vulnerable is a necessity for any healthy relationship, including the relationship between a pastor and those that he leads. Those called into pastoral ministry have to be willing to be hurt, scorned, ridiculed, and sometimes even rejected. A pastor must realize that God has called Him to tend to His sheep, and frequently that is a painful task but God will give the grace to love as He loves and to lead as He leads.

Bibliography

Unless otherwise stated, all scriptural references can be found in the New American Standard Bible version of the Holy Bible. ©1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman foundation. Used by permission. I Corinthians 13:13, I Timothy 3:2, Ephesians 4:11, Ephesians 4:12, Ephesians 4:12-13, Habakkuk 2:2-3, James 4:6, Jeremiah 3:15, John 4:32-34, John 13:35, John 21:17, Luke 6:45, Matthew 23:21, Philippians 2:5-8, Proverbs 16:8, Proverbs 16:9, Proverbs 23:7, Proverbs 29:18.
Anderson, Robert C. The Effective Pastor. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 1985.
Barna, George. The Power of Vision. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2009.
Bible Hub. n.d. www.biblehub.com/greek/2677.htm (accessed June 4, 2014).
Cordeiro, Wayne. Doing Church as a Team. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2004.
Maxwell, John C. Be a People Person. Colorado Springs, CO: David C. Cook, 2007.
—. The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1999.